Mitt Romney has changed the prevailing narrative of Election 2012’s end game.

Whether and — if so, how much — he’s changed the odds is anyone’s guess.

The prevailing narrative had the odds strongly favoring the re-election of Barack Obama.

Its talking points were based on the math of the Electoral College.

Victorious candidates must amass at least 270 electoral votes; each state won gives the winner a vote total equal to its U.S. representatives and two U.S. senators. Georgia, for example, has 16.

For the last month until about 10 days ago, the widespread assumption was that Obama was safely ahead in enough states to give him 237 electoral votes.

All he needed to do was take Ohio — with 18 electoral votes — and two or so of eight other states considered competitive.

In that scenario, Romney’s plight was desperate. He was toast if he didn’t stop Obama in the Buckeye State — and charred toast if he lost in still iffy Florida, which has 29 electoral votes.

Taken at face value, all that hasn’t changed much.

Sure, Romney has improved his standing in Florida and seems to have at least an even chance of prevailing there. So charred toast, probably not.

But even though he’s inched up a bit in Ohio, most polls have shown the president still ahead.

What has changed is the roster of other states where Obama was considered far enough ahead to tentatively put 237 electoral votes in his column.

To varying degrees — which seem to shift with each day’s new polls — his once-strong leads in Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania have eroded.

Together, those states account for 52 electoral votes that no longer can be chalked up for the president.

Meanwhile, Romney and his allies have poured millions of dollars of advertising and some staff and volunteers there.

Team Obama countered with a similar response, although it’s not clear whether it had as much money for ads — or how much that matters.

Pennsylvania’s slippage into toss-up status — or something like it — is especially interesting.

By itself, a Romney win there could more than cancel out losing in Ohio. Moreover, some observers speculate that the impact of superstorm Sandy may hinder get-out-the-vote efforts in parts of the state where Obama likely will run stronger.

Bottom line: The map of battleground states has been expanded.

From each side and from some without an ax to grind, we’re seeing various spins on the new geography.

1. Romney’s desperate because he’s given up on Ohio and thinks he’s in trouble in Florida and maybe other closely contested states. But he’s got money to burn; there’s nothing to lose.

2. He’s confident about Florida and his prospects in other battleground states such as North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado and maybe even Wisconsin. And he’s got money to burn; there’s nothing to lose.

3. All we’re seeing is the usual tightening of the race in the final days of the election; it’s still advantage Obama.

Take your pick; mix and match if you like. No one can prove you wrong, at least for a couple of days.

By the time you read this, we’ll have absorbed whatever fallout there was from Friday’s final and marginally worse pre-election jobless report. Clearly it didn’t help Obama; it’s less clear whether it helped Romney.

We also will have mulled over Obama’s response to Sandy and what — if anything much — to make of Romney’s 2011 remark in favor of de-federalizing disaster relief.

And today and tomorrow, those of you who want to will see spates of new polls. Followed a day later, of course by the one that the folks on both sides long have reminded us is the only one that counts.